Wall Street Zen Downgrades Waters (NYSE:WAT) to Hold

Waters (NYSE:WAT) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on WAT. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $435.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $424.35.

Waters Trading Up 0.0%

WAT opened at $409.39 on Friday. Waters has a one year low of $282.77 and a one year high of $426.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $392.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $352.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.09, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.19.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.04. Waters had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%.The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.950-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.450-14.650 EPS. Analysts predict that Waters will post 14.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of Waters stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total value of $1,442,930.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,086,515.52. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waters

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV purchased a new position in Waters in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. bought a new position in Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its position in Waters by 121.2% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 73 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vision Retirement LLC purchased a new stake in Waters during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Company Profile

Waters Corporation is a global provider of analytical instruments, software and services for laboratory and research applications. The company designs, manufactures and sells technologies centered on liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, separation science, and related sample preparation and detection systems. Its product portfolio includes chromatographs, mass spectrometers, columns and consumables, laboratory informatics and workflow software, as well as technical support and training services that help customers run and interpret complex analyses.

Waters serves a wide range of end markets that include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract research and testing laboratories, academic and government research institutions, clinical diagnostics, food and environmental testing, and industrial and chemical manufacturers.